Nesta FutureFest Survey

Poll of British adults on attitudes towards the future for Nesta

One in six British adults (17%) would go on a date with a robot, if they could ensure a perfect match and tell no difference – a quarter of young Britons (26%) say they would do this.

Q: If you had the option to in the future, would you do each of the following, or not?

	Yes	No	Don’t know
If your privacy was 100 per cent guaranteed, would you have a microchip implanted in your hand so that with a wave of your hand that you could gain entry to your home or log onto your work device?	34%	52%	14%
If a series of pills were developed that meant you didn’t need to eat, and this didn’t have any negative effect on you or your health, would you take these pills instead of eating?	23%	62%	15%
Today’s lovers can meet via apps like Tinder or Happn. In the future, would you agree to use DNA-matching or take part in pheromone-matching to help find a partner?	20%	60%	20%
Assuming you were single, if you could ensure a perfect match and tell no difference, would you go on date with a robot?	17%	70%	13%

Base: All British adults (n=1,002)

• One in five Britons (20%) say they would use DNA-matching or pheromone matching to help find a partner – three in ten young Britons (31% of those aged 18-34) say they would do this.
• One third of British adults (34%) say they would have a microchip implanted in their hand so that they could enter their home or log onto a work computer with the wave of their hand; among those Britons who use contactless cards frequently, half (50%) would do this.

 

Britons are most likely to say that tea would remain the most popular drink in Britain in 2036. One third say this (33%), followed by one quarter who say it would be coffee (26%). One in ten (9%) think it would be a drink not yet invented.

Q: Tea is currently widely seen as the most popular drink in Britain. By 2036, what do you think will be the most popular drink?

	Result
Tea	33%
Coffee	26%
Something not yet invented	9%
Water	7%
Protein shakes	6%
Beer	3%
Wine	2%
Whiskey	1%
Gin	0%
Don’t know	12%
None of these	0%

Base: All British adults (n=1,002)

Half of British adults (51%) think cash will no longer be in use in twenty years’ time in the UK. One in five think laptop computers (21%) and working in offices (22%) will no longer be used in twenty years.

Q: Which of the following, if any, do you think will be no longer used in 20 years’ time in in the UK? Please select all that apply.

	Result
Cash (paper/coin based currency)	51%
Passports	25%
Working in offices	22%
Laptop computers	21%
Email	11%
Social media (eg. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)	11%
Mobile Phones	7%
Cars	6%
None of these	26%

Base: All British adults (n=1,002)

• Older Britons are more likely than younger generations to think that cash (59% among those aged 55+ vs. 42% among those aged 18-34) or laptop computers (24% vs. 16%) will not be used in twenty years.
• However, those aged 18-34 are particularly likely to think that email will not be used in twenty years’ time (18%).

Date Published: 26th April 2016

Categories: GB | Public and communities | Social

Client: Nesta

Methodology

ComRes interviewed 1,002 British adults online between 15^th and 19^th April 2016. Data were weighted by age, gender, region and socio-economic grade to be representative of all British adults aged 18+.